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Re: Playoffs: Colts vs Patriots thread

well he just lives right down the street, may as well bring him in and see what he remembers

Yeah, I've always wondered why Deion Branch lives here. I mean it's a nice city and all, but it's a bit bizarre that a multi-millionaire athlete with no ties to the city would choose to live here. It's like how the HOF baseball player Tony Gwynn lived (still lives?) in Fishers.

Re: Playoffs: Colts vs Patriots thread

Tony Gwynn was an Indiana Pacers season ticket-holder, and he helped the WNBA Indiana Fever's inaugural ticket drive seven years ago. Gwynn retired with more than 3,100 career hits in 20 years with the San Diego Padres. He moved his family to the northern Indianapolis suburb of Fishers in 1993 and still has a home there and in California, where he's the coach at his alma mater, San Diego State.

Gwynn decided to become a Hoosier after he accompanied his wife, Alicia, to Indianapolis with her church group. Instead of sitting in their hotel room, he toured the city and decided it was somewhere he wanted to live.

Re: Playoffs: Colts vs Patriots thread

Lenz (5-foot-11 1/4, 201) was not invited to the Combine, but put himself on the draft radar with forty times of 4.36 and 4.37 at the ISU Pro Day. He added a 38.5-inch vertical and 10-foot-1 broad jump. Lenz was not a productive collegiate, but could parlay a year or two on the practice squad into a bigger opportunity because of his god-given tools.

Re: Playoffs: Colts vs Patriots thread

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Colts have signed former New England Patriots receiver Deion Branch just days before the teams meet in the AFC divisional round.

The Colts agreed to terms with the 34-year-old Branch on Monday to bolster a receiving group that's dealing with injuries. Branch first worked out for the Colts in December.

"We have a pool of guys in case you have injuries," coach Chuck Pagano said. "Deion was one of the guys we worked out. He's a local guy who lives in Carmel, [Ind.], he's in great shape, had a great workout and obviously he's a proven guy and played at a high level for a long time in this league. With him being right here in our backyard and us having some familiarity with him from just working him out, it just made sense to bring him on board at this point."

Branch spent seven seasons with New England, including being named the MVP of Super Bowl XXXIX. Branch last played in 2012, when he caught 16 passes for 145 yards in 10 games with the Patriots. He played in one career game against New England, in 2008 while with the Seattle Seahawks. He caught four passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-21 Patriots victory.

"We figured the questions were going to come up that we were signing this guy who spent some time in New England," Pagano said. "Is it just a coincidence or do you need the guy to help you win a football game and help your team? Every decision we make is based on what's best for this team and what gives us the best chance to win, and we think we have one heck of a football player."
Wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the Colts' fifth receiver, will miss Saturday's game against the Patriots with a hamstring injury.

In other roster moves Monday, the Colts elevated receiver Josh Lenz from the practice squad to the active roster and placed defensive end Fili Moala and cornerback Greg Toler on injured reserve.

Moala missed Saturday's playoff game against Kansas City with a knee injury, and Toler aggravated the groin injury that caused him to miss seven games earlier this season.

Take me out to the black, tell 'em I ain't coming back. Burn the land and boil the sea, you can't take the sky from me.

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Re: Playoffs: Colts vs Patriots thread

This is a very close matchup. Both teams have bad defenses. Both teams have young, promising WR's. Both teams have great QB's. The one area where we have an advantage is RB. Donald Brown is the best RB in this game

Being unable to close out a game in which you have a comfortable lead in the 4th Q = Pulling a Frank Vogel

Re: Playoffs: Colts vs Patriots thread

least likely to call "coverage penalties", which includes defensive holding, illegal contact and defensive pass interference, than any crew in the league. Also calls the fewest offensive holding penalties

Tempering this is that the league no longer advances full officiating crews to the playoffs, but at least three members of each regular-season crew will work together now (explained in the last link)

bottom line: expect a "let 'em play" approach

so... good, bad, or neither?

The new Chuck Pagano Colts are far less of a speed/finesse bunch than the old Colts, I know, who were a little vulnerable to a slow whistle. The Patriots arguably now have the much more smurfy receivers, more easily re-directed by contact than in the past, especially when they had a 2 tight end base offense.

Aqib Talib may be the most physical corner on the field, though, so that can work the other way and help the Patriots if it's a loosely called game.

On the whole it's probably not a big deal. It is kind of odd seeing the wide disparity in frequency of some calls with respect to different crews, however. I'd expect differences, but when one crew makes a certain call 5 time more often than another crew, some aspect of their training must be way off.

Last edited by Slick Pinkham; 01-07-2014 at 04:01 PM.

The poster "pacertom" since this forum began (and before!). I changed my name here to "Slick Pinkham" in honor of the imaginary player That Bobby "Slick" Leonard picked late in the 1971 ABA draft (true story!).

Re: Playoffs: Colts vs Patriots thread

Should be interesting then. No doubt the Patriots will be really good at pressing our receivers and will probably get by with numerous non holding calls. Of course our O-line is terrible so the trade-off of our guys holding and keeping Luck from getting killed is well worth it.

You know how hippos are made out to be sweet and silly, like big cows, but are actually extremely dangerous and can kill you with stunning brutality? The Pacers are the NBA's hippos....Matt Moore CBS Sports....